Music-leaf turner.



G. E. FERGUSON.

MUSIC LEAF TURNER.

- APPLIUATION TILED MAR. 26, 1912. 1 077 134. Patented 0013.28, 1913.

' 2 SHEETSSHEET l.

Glii'eryam G. E. FERGUSON.

MUSIC LEAF TURNER.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 26, 1912.

Patented Oct. 28, 1913.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

awwe/wtoz commune PMNDGRAPH CO|WASNINGTON| D. c.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

GURNETT FERGUSON, 9F INSTITUTE, WEST VIRGINIA.

.iM U-SIC-LEA'F TURNER.

Application filedMarch 26, 1912.

T0 aZZ whom it may concern Be it known that I, GURNE'rr E. FERGU- soN, acitizen of the United States, residing at Institute, in the county ofKanawha and State of est Virginia, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Music-Leaf Turners, of which the "following is aspecification.

This invention relates to leaf 'turners and has for its object theprovision of mechanical devices whereby the leaves or sheets of amusical composition may be rapidly turned without interrupting arendition of the composition.

The objects of the present invention are to simplify the constructionand operation of music leaf turners and to provide an apparatus whichmay be readily applied to any piano and be easily operated by theperformer without causing a perceptible interruption of the performance.

The object of the invention is attained in a mechanism of the characterillustrated, and the invention resides in certain novel features whichwill be hereinafter first fully described and then more particularlypointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings: Figure 1 is a perspec-l t1ve View of my improved deviceshowingj so much of a piano as is necessary to illus- .trate theoperative position of the'invention; Fig. 2 is a vertical transversesection of the same; Fig. 3 is an enlarged detail section through themain support; Fig. 1 is a horizontal section on the line H of Fig. 3;Fig. 5 is a view partly in elevation and partly in section of the tripdevice; Fig. '6 is a plan vie-w of the trip device; Fig. 7 is a view ofa modification of the trigger; Fig. 8 shows a modified arrangement ofthe leafcarrying arms.

In carrying out my invention, I employ a bracket 1 which consistsessentially of a standard or back plate having lugs 2 projectingforwardly from its upper and lower ends. This bracket is placed againstthe desk ofthe piano and into the desk, immediately above the bracket, Iinsert a screw 3 having a slotted or looped head 4 through which a setscrew 5 is "inserted to engage; the upper lug 2, as shown most clearlyin. Fig. 3. The screw 3 and the slotted head 4% of the same constitute ahanger to which the bracket 1 is firmly secured by the set screw 5, andas the head of the set screw will project over the walls of the slotthe;

:Specificationof Letters Iatent.

.Iatented Oct. 28, 1913.

Serial No.-686-,385.

bracket will be rigidly suspended on the said hanger. When it is desiredto remove the apparatus from the piano, the set screw 5 is withdrawn,whereupon the leaf turner may be lifted from the desk. It will thus beseen that the application of the device to the desk of va piano does notunduly mar or mutilate the same, as the only effect is to form the smallhole necessary to receivethe screw 8. Extending to each side from thestandard or back plate 1 of the bracket are supporting bars 6 havingforwardly projecting arms '7 secured to their ends, and a similar "arm 8projects forwardly from the lower lug 2. Forwardly projecting lips,indicated in dotted lines at 9 in Fig. 1 are provided at the ends of thelateral bars 6 in alinement with the arms 7 and upon these lips I placethe shelf or book rest 10 having its inner edge centrally notched to .taround the upper lug 2 of the main bracket. To the outer end of the saidshelf I secure a bail or support 11 which depends from the corners ofthe said shelf and rests upon the forwardly projecting arms 7 and 8, asclearly shown. This bail 11 is angular in cross section, as shown mostclearly -in Fig. '5, and the trigger, presently more specificallydescribed, is mounted upon the said bail. Arranged between the lugs 2and supported thereby are a plurality-of vertical pivot pins 12 from thelower ends "of which extend the leaf-engaging and turning arms. The saidleaf-engaging and turning arms comprise inner tubular sections 13 andouter sections 141 slidably fitted within'the tubular sections andadj-ustably secured therein by set screws 15, as shown and as will bereadily understood. The outer ends of the sections 14 are turnedupwardly, as shown at 16, and carry vertical rods '17 upon which aremounted clasps or other form of leaf holders 18, as will be understood.Springs 19 are coiled around the pins 12 and at their upper endsaresecured in the upper lug 2, their lower ends bearing against thesides of the tubular sections, as shown most clearly in Fig. e, wherebythe springs tend to swing the said sections and the entire leaf-engagingarms to the left of the apparatus.

'Slidably mounted upon the "bail or supporting bar 11 is a trigger'device consisting of a bracket 20 having an elongated forwardlyprojecting body with a longitudln'al slot 21 opening through its frontend and provided near its rear end with a transverse angular bore, shownat 22, to engage the supporting bar 11. lVit-hin the slot 21 is a dog 23which is pivotally mounted by means of the pin 24 and is held normallyin the position shown in Fig. 5 by a spring 25 coiled around said pinand having its ends secured to the bracket and the dog, respectively. Onthe upper edge of the dog, intermediate the ends thereof, is anupstanding tooth 26 which normally projects above the bracket 20, asshown, to hold the leaf-carrying arms against the tension of the springs19. On the under edge of the dog, at the front end of the same, is asleeve or eye 27 in which is fitted the upper end of an extensible link23 consisting of telescoping members as shown, the said link beingcoiled upon itself, as shown at 29, to form a spring between the sleeveor eye 27 and the trip lever 30 which is pivotally at tached to thelower end of the link. This trip lever 30 is fulcrumed upon aplate 31adapted to rest against the piano as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a pad 32 ofany suitable material being interposed between the plate and the pianoto prevent marring of the surfac he spring 29 should have sufii cienttension to hold the said plate firmly against the piano so that it willnot be dis lodged in the operation of the device, but at the same timeits engagement with the piano is such that it may be readily swung toone side when the piano is to be closed.

I The upper end of the extensible link fitting in the sleeve 2'? forms ahinge connection therewith so that when the piano is to be closed thetrip lever and the link pivoted thereto may be swung laterally so as toclear the ledge of the piano, as will be readily understood on referenceto Fig. 2.

The trigger is shifted along the supporting bar or bail 11 so that thetooth 26 will extend upward in front of the foremost leaf-carrying armas shown in the drawings, it being understood that when the device is tobe used as many of the said arms as necessary will be arranged at theright side of the desk with the clasps or other devices 18 engaging theouter edges of the several leaves whereby as the arms are successivelyreleased the leaves will be successively carried to the left. The armsextend from their respective pivots over the support 11 and are held atthe right side of the device by the tooth 26 against which the foremostarm bears, each of the remaining arms bearing respectively against thearm immediately in front thereof.

In the preferred form of the invention, I employ three leaf-carryingarms and arrange the pivot pins 12 one behind another, as shown in Fig.4, the pins being successively shorter toward the front, as shown inFig. 3, to permit each arm to swing under the pins in front of its ownpivot. To bring the front ends of all the arms into position to extendover the bar 11 and rest upon the bracket 20, I form the inner ends ofthe arms as shown in Figs. 3 and 4t upon reference to which it will benoted that the arm carried by the rearmost pivot extends in a radialplane of its pivot throughout its length but at a point in advance ofthe foremost pivot it is bent sharply upward, forming a riser 33 fromwhich it extends forwardly substantially in the plane of the arm mountedon the foremost pivot. The arm on the front pivot is carried laterally,as shown at 34, before extending to the front but has no riser while theintermediate arm is carried laterally, as at 35, a short distance, thencarried forwardly under the lateral portion 34, as at 36, and thenformed with a short riser 3?, from which it extends forwardly betweenthe other arms and in the same plane therewith. This formation of thearms, it will be readily seen, spaces them apart at their inner ends andthe several parts are so arranged and proportioned that the arms willextend across the bracket 20 at varying angles thereto. W hen during thecourse of the performance it becomes necessary to turn the leaf, theplayer depresses the trip lever 30, thereby exerting a downward pullupon the dog 23 through the link 28. This movement withdraws the tooth26 from its engagement with the leaf-carrying arm so that the spring 19will be free to act and at once turns the arm to the left side of theappara tus. As the dog is thus drawn downward, the tension of the spring25 will be increased and the rear end of the dog will be projectedslightly upward so that it will enter the space between adjacentleaf-carrying arms and thereby prevent the second arm swinging to theleft side of the apparatus. The trip lever 30 and its support may bedispensed with by providing a button or finger piece 38 adjacent thecoil 29 as shown in Fig. 7. If the device is made smaller with only twoleaf-carrying arms, the pivots may be arranged side by side, as shown inFig. 8, and in this event the leaf-carrying arms may be straight.

l-laving thus described my invention, what is claimed is:

1. In a leaf turner, the combination of a fixed support, a screwinserted in said support and having a slotted head, a bracket below saidhead, a fastening device inserted through the slotted head into saidbracket, a plurality of leaf-turning arms pivoted on said bracket, meansfor turning said arms, means for normally holding the arms againstmovement, and means for releasing said leaf-turning arms.

2. In a leaf turner, the combination of a support, a plurality ofleaf-turning arms movable over the support, a trigger mounted on thesupport and normally in the path of the arms to hold them against saidmovement, a trip lever disposed below the trigger, and a link connectingthe trip lever with the trigger whereby movement of the trip lever willcause the trigger to release a leaf-turning arm, said link having aspring formed therein between its ends whereby to hold the trip leveragainst a fixed support.

3. In a leaf turner, the combination of a support, a plurality ofleaf-turning arms movable over the support, a trigger mounted upon thesupport and normally in the path of the arms to hold them againstmovement, a trip lever provided with means for frictionally engaging apiano frame below the support, and connections between the said leverand the trigger whereby movement of the lever will cause the trigger torelease an arm.

4:. In a leaf turner, the combination of a support, a plurality ofleaf-turning arms movable over the support, a trigger mounted on thesupport and normally in the path of the arms to hold the same againstmovement, and a trip for causing the trigger to release an arm hinged toand depending from the free end of said trigger and having a resilientportion immediately adjacent its hinged connection with the trigger,said hinged connection permitting the trip to swing laterally about thelongitudinal axis of the trigger.

5. In a leaf turner, the combination of a fixed support, a series ofleaf-turning arms independently pivoted thereon, means for turning saidarms, and a trigger mounted on the support to extend horizontally underand be brought against the foremost arm, the rear end of the triggerbeing adapted to rise between adjacent arms as each arm is successivelyreleased by the trigger and the trigger being adjustable along thesupport.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

GURNETT E. FERGUSON.

Witnesses WVM. A. Srnroos, CHAS. E. MITCHELL.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents,

. Washington, D. 0.

